- It is no secret that public service vehicles commonly known as matatus and buses pay some fee daily to the traffic police at the roadblocks.
- Is the road accident that claimed the lives of young students of Kenyatta University and left many with serious injuries not painful enough for us to mind our behaviours on the roads?
Image: FILE
The Ministry of Transport and Roads launched the National Road Safety Action Plan 2024-2028 on April 17th 2024, aimed at safeguarding the lives of road users in Kenya.
Along with improvements to road infrastructure, other key focuses of the Plan include vehicle safety standards, stricter enforcement measures, heightened public awareness campaigns, post-crash care services, promotion of safe driving practices, road safety database development, and monitoring and evaluation systems.
The plan was rolled out at the right time given the alarming rate of road accidents across the country that have caused many deaths and injuries to Kenyans.
The Ministry of Transport and Roads should move swiftly to ensure that the implementation of the plan is fully done with outcomes that will reduce the occurrence of road accidents.
The effort by the Government to curb road accidents is commendable. However, Kenyan road users whether motorists or pedestrians have a responsibility both at individual and collective capacity to ensure that the safety plan rolled out by the Ministry is successful.
The latest statistics from the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) as of April 1st indicate that 1108 people lost their lives through road accidents. According to NTSA, road accidents in the country have risen by 7 per cent.
It is undisputed that unethical conduct and corruption have to an extent played a role in the occurrence of accidents on Kenyan roads.
Majority of the motorists whether driving vehicles, motorcycles, commonly referred to as bodaboda riders, more often than not engage in unethical conduct and corrupt practices.
An observation on the behaviours of Kenyan motorists shows that impunity, unethical conduct and corruption have played a huge role in the occurrence of road accidents.
Some of the common offences include overtaking dangerously, drunk driving, speeding, freewheeling, using a mobile phone while the vehicle is in motion, driving on the pedestrian walkway, and riding a motorcycle without protective gear.
What will it take Kenyan road users to observe ethical conduct or discipline always?
Is the road accident that claimed the lives of young students of Kenyatta University and left many with serious injuries not painful enough for us to mind our behaviours on the roads? Are we a society that does not feel any pain when a family is grieving the death of their six loved ones who perished along Mombasa Road?
Despite many media reports of these road accidents occurring almost daily across the country, one cannot fail to witness motorists driving carelessly or breaking the regulations with impunity.
Why are these lawbreakers on the roads so bold? The culprits always break the laws and circumvent punishment because they have a mindset of influencing the traffic police officers who have no integrity by paying bribes.
It is no secret that public service vehicles commonly known as matatus and buses pay some fee daily to the traffic police at the roadblocks.
Thereafter, they will have a field day breaking the regulations because they know that nobody will take action against them.
Law enforcement officers or witnesses at the scenes of these occurrences have attributed most of the road accidents in Kenya, to human error and breach of road safety regulations.
Furthermore, causes of these accidents are preventable and predictable factors such as non-usage of seat belts by commuters, driver behaviour such as speeding leading to loss of control in high occupancy vehicles and poor mechanical conditions of vehicles resulting in brake failures and tyre bursts.
In July 2022, Kenya Urban Roads Authority Director Wilfred Oginga said about 57 per cent of road accidents in Kenya are caused by human error.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), road traffic crashes killed 1.19 million people worldwide in 2021—more than malaria or HIV/AIDS. Road crashes are the leading cause of death among children and young people between the ages of five and 29, and the twelfth leading cause of death for all age groups.
NTSA's report indicates that 4,324 people died in road accidents in 2023. The most affected categories of persons were pedestrians and motorcyclists.
What is the responsibility of a citizen in preventing road accidents? Upholding discipline by every user is key to preventing accidents. To avoid more deaths on our roads, all citizens should be responsible by being ethical people.
Let us avoid situations where we break the traffic laws because we are ready to bribe and get away with misconduct. The Traffic regulations will not help in curbing road accidents because unethical behaviours will still be a major contributing factor to the problem.
Every motorist should always be responsible for their safety and that of other road users by acting responsibly while on the wheel. The rise of road accidents calls upon Kenyans to act decisively and observe discipline to stop the frequency of accidents.
According to a report by NTSA, at least 22,885 people were involved in road accidents in 2023. The authority listed 13 leading causes of accidents in Kenya. NTSA revealed that losing control was one of the main causes of road crashes, accounting for 929 deaths.
Overtaking improperly led to 443 accidents while misjudging clearance, distance, or speed resulted in 310 deaths. NTSA revealed that losing control was one of the main causes of road crashes, accounting for 929 deaths.
Cause not traced accounted for 575 road deaths followed by lane indiscipline at 491.
Overtaking improperly led to 443 accidents while misjudging clearance, distance, or speed resulted in 310 deaths.
Inappropriate speed accounted for 274 road crashes, and other apparent errors of judgment or negligence accounted for 219 deaths.
Also, stepping, walking, or running off the footpath or verge onto the road resulted in 121 deaths while crossing roads not masked by stationary vehicles accounted for 73 deaths.
Turning without due care accounted for 84 deaths, swerving had 58, walking or standing on the road had 60 and brake failure resulted in 45 deaths.
The National Road Safety Action Plan 2024-2028 on April 17th 2024 will bear results with the full support of all actors in the country and more so, when Kenyan road users uphold discipline always.
Pamela Jepkemei is a Communications Specialist